Those who harass women should be slapped: Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar seems to have found a way to deal with those who sexually harass women. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief told party workers, "If someone harasses you don't just protest. Give him two tight slaps. If you do that then I feel the offender will not repeat his mistake." Mr Pawar was speaking at a function organised by the NCP's Women's Wing.

This comes after a great outrage over the Delhi gang-rape incident on December 16 last year where a 23-year-old medical student was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus on the streets in Delhi. She died nine days later in a hospital in Singapore.

Earlier, Mumbai's Police Commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh had made a similar suggestion. He had said that even though policemen do not have a right to slap the eve-teasers, they would support the victim if the latter punished the accused by slapping.

Speaking at a function organised to create awareness among women as a part of the ongoing drive initiated by the Mumbai Police, Dr Satyapal Singh had said, "Police have many limitations. Policemen have no right to hit the culprits with batons. Forget about hitting them with a baton, we don't even have a right to slap them!" He then went on to add, "If we do so, we will have to face the music of human rights organisations. But you (victims) could slap those who tease you and we will bring the culprits to book. We would not question the victims for slapping."

While our politicians have still not been able to bring a strong law against sexual harassment, senior leaders like Mr Pawar think one way out of the problem is to slap offenders.